Horace Mann is known as the Father of the Common School. Elected to be the Massachusetts Secretary of Education in 1837, he led the Common School Movement. His idea was that every child could receive a basic education funded by local taxes. “Mann believed that public schooling was central to good citizenship, democratic participation and societal well-being.”
Chana Joffe-Walt in This American Life (August 13 2020) says that we no longer have a shared vision about the purpose of public schools. She says: “What we (nice white parents) have is choice.” For many public school administrators, the purpose of public school has shifted to student achievement on state-mandated tests because families often select the high scoring school in the choice process. We are just now learning to listen to what minority parents want in their kids’ schools.
Partners in Literacy’s mission is to create communities of readers in schools. Educating future full participants of a democratic society is woven into everything we do.
We have been able to blanket classrooms so that every child reads with a volunteer in a small group or one-on-one. Each child gets what they need at that moment, whether the volunteer is listening to their buddy’s feelings, focusing on word recognition, stretching their interest and exposure, or having conversations about a challenging book. That is equity. Equity is necessary for Democracy
Class conversations about content are nearly always teacher directed; she knows what she wants the students to say before the student can say it. The work of a reading volunteer-buddy group is casual conversation- often student led. When a caring adult is listening, a student can find her own questions and voice. Individual’s voices are necessary for Democracy.
School libraries are rich sources of humanity easily accessible to all kids in the school. Libraries or bookrooms support each reading volunteer program. Classroom content follows tight, focused curriculums; but kids’ questions and interests are about anything and everything.
Romance? We got it
Science? Yes!
Faraway lands? Books are your ticket.
Dystopias? There are so many.
Biographies? You can find every kind of person.
Black Lives Matter? We have a lot, but promise to buy more.
Jason Reynolds, Ambassador for Young People’s Literature said at American University Empowering Education: A Convening on Racial Equity in Education (8/19/2020), “Because what a librarian understands more than anyone else is that you don’t have to agree with a book for it to exist on the shelf.” Kids are attracted to those differences. In the company of a caring adult, Partners in Literacy hands kids the possibility to follow their own minds. Democracy is never about narrow perspectives.
(We cannot quote Reynolds enough.) In the same convening he said, “Education is in itself a conversation.” In elementary and middle school classes, students do too much listening, write too many short answers and are quiet too much. Cross generational conversations add just the right balance of same and different. The ability to hold constructive conversations with someone else, who is not like you, is necessary for democracy.
If we educate our children to be kind, knowledgeable, empathetic, life-long learners, we can be hopeful about the future. Partners in Literacy is working on it.